The technology:
Low-to-mid altitude photography using contracted drone pilots with Mavic-class equipment. Precise positioning, flexible scheduling, and 360° panoramic capture from any height within legal limits.
Drone photography covers the altitude range where fixed-wing aircraft don’t operate practically — typically 10 to 120 meters. We work with contracted pilots using Mavic-class equipment, which delivers professional image quality at the flexibility of an on-demand shoot. Most urban and suburban projects can be fully covered with drone photography; larger sites or legally restricted areas require Aerial Photography from aircraft.
Drone vs aircraft
Choosing between drone and aircraft photography
| Drone | Aircraft / Helicopter | |
|---|---|---|
| Altitude | 10–120 m typical, up to legal limit | 150 m+ — full altitude freedom |
| Coverage per flight | Single building or site | Large area, district, infrastructure |
| Scheduling | On-demand, short notice possible | Requires flight plan coordination |
| Positioning | Precise — any angle, height, distance | Constrained by flight path and aircraft type |
| 360° panorama | Yes — 360 drone panorama option | Rarely |
| Cost | Lower | Higher |
| Regulated airspace | Limited — restricted zones common near cities | Coordinated via air traffic authority |
Pre-planned integration shoots
For projects where drone photographs will be used as the base for Photo Integration or Aerial Integration, we plan the shoot using the 3D model first. We position virtual cameras in 3ds Max to find angles that show the building effectively, then transfer those exact positions — altitude, distance, bearing — to the pilot as a flight brief. The result is a set of photographs that are guaranteed to work as compositing bases before a single flight is made.
This avoids the common problem of paying for drone photography that turns out to be unusable because the angle doesn’t show the building clearly, the sun is in the wrong position, or the framing cuts off key context.
360° drone panoramas
Drones can also capture full 360° panoramic images from any point in the air. These are used as aerial context viewpoints in 360 Tours, or as HDR environment maps for lighting aerial integration renders. The result is a fully interactive panoramic view from above — not just a flat photograph.
What we need from you
| Location | Site address and any access notes for the pilot. |
| Purpose | Documentation, integration base, or 360 panorama — each shapes the shot list. |
| Angles | For integration: we define these from the 3D model. For documentation: preferred directions and heights. |
| Timing | Time of day for shadow direction. For integration, this must match the intended render lighting. |
| Airspace | We check for restrictions in the area — some zones require advance permit applications. |
Related techniques
For wider coverage than a drone can provide: Aerial Photography
For compositing a building into the drone photograph: Photo Integration or Aerial Integration
